# camera on bird = bird's eye view **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 21, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525 "2010-09-21T12:50:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/1 "2010-09-21T12:50:49Z")
Camera strapped to a bird gives a real bird’s eye view of flight: [http://mediacaffeine.com/perspectives/environmental/put-cameras-on-a-peregrine-falcon-and-a-goshawk-prepare-to-be-amazed/](http://mediacaffeine.com/perspectives/environmental/put-cameras-on-a-peregrine-falcon-and-a-goshawk-prepare-to-be-amazed/) The open-space flights are interesting, but the true, terrifying insanity begins around the 1:50 mark, when the bird somehow navigates through an extremely dense forest at high speed without splattering against a tree trunk. WOW. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/2 "2010-09-21T13:18:49Z")
That goshawk really knows his stuff, amazing footage. I had on standby a project to install a tiny wireless camera ([this tiny](http://www.fpvhobby.com/94-8ghz-10mw-camera.html)) on one of my small R/C planes, so I can fly around the park with a true birds eye view, although I’m not going to be squeezing through branches like that any time soon… at least not with a flyable airplane after the event. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/3 "2010-09-21T14:00:38Z")
Wow! Impressive stuff. The Goshawk part was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/4 "2010-09-22T14:17:47Z")
When you think about the individual primary feathers changing position rapidly to stabilize flight, the wing movements, and the changes of direction, there’s a lot of control being exercised by that little bird brain. Now think for moment about processing all the _spatial_ data – the balance sensing, the kinesthetic awareness of the constantly-changing body position, sensing wind directions, and all that visual data streaming in as the terrain flashes by – that’s a lot of mental activity right there too. Now consider for a moment what the falcon/hawk is experiencing internally. All that data processing and flight control is happening at high speed subconsciously – the bird is actually concentrating on spotting tiny movements of prey animals. He’s just looking for breakfast; the whole miracle of flight he takes for granted. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/5 "2010-09-22T19:46:38Z")
I’ve got three pet birds at the moment, and I’ve had several others over the years. They are can maneuver at 30-40 mph through a cluttered apartment with moving people, sometimes even moving people chasing after them. They think it’s great fun. I had a lovebird once who taught himself to do Immelmans. He’d fly into a closet then use the maneuver to change direction without slowing down. Yep, birds are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-on-bird-birds-eye-view/554525/6 "2010-09-22T22:24:27Z")
I hear that in the uncut footage, Luke pops up up from behind one of those trees and cuts off the front of the bird’s beak with his lightsaber.